The concept of a rotary wing-fixed wing composite aircraft system and method of flight was recognized as early as 1958 by Bennett, as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 2,843,337 which was issued July 15, 1958, and was assigned to Hiller Helicopters. The Bennett patent disclosed a rotary wing aircraft attached above the longitudinal center of gravity of a fixed wing aircraft with the attachment points being close to the main structure of the fixed wing aircraft and with attachment fittings on the rotary wing aircraft housed in leg fairings of a skid type under carriage. The attachment disclosed effected a rigid connection directly between strong points on the upper and lower aircrafts, with an arrangement in which the attachment point on the fixed wing aircraft could be retracted when released for independent flight. In a disclosure by E. F. Andrews, as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 2,797,881 of July 2, 1957, another rotary wing-fixed wing composite aircraft system was described. In both of these disclosures the attachment means on the rotary wing aircraft was neither extendible nor maneuverable and was rigidly attached to the rotary wing aircraft structure. In addition the engine thrust of the fixed wing aircraft could not be directed or utilized to help lift or assist in the fixed wing aircraft take-off or landing.
Other kinds of composite aircraft such as fixed wing-fixed wing and dirigible-fixed wing systems have also been previously disclosed.
There preceded Bennett the concept of launching and retrieving a small fixed wing aircraft from the bomb bay of a large fixed wing aircraft, as disclosed by Barkey in U.S. Pat. No. 2,653,777, which was issued Sept. 29, 1953. This patent was directed to the mechanism for achieving that result.
Prior to the Bennett and Barkey disclosures, Richardson disclosed, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,869,506 which issued Aug. 2, 1932, an arrangement for catching a powered airplane while in flight from another aircraft, and more particularly disclosed apparatus to permit an operator from within a dirigible to catch and temporarily suspend an aircraft from the underside of the dirigible. The disclosure of the preferred method derived by Richardson was directed to manual control over the securing or mooring means, since the pilots of the respective components were not considered in position to visually superintend the catching operation.